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In keeping with standard transgender talking points, Planned Parenthood wants parents to teach their preschoolers that “their genitals don’t determine their gender.” Instead, gender is whatever you make it to be. As I’ve heard endlessly from LGBT activists, “Gender is not what’s between your legs, it’s what’s between your ears.”

But if that’s the case, when a biological boy is convinced he’s really a girl, why is he put on hormone blockers to stop the onset of puberty so he won’t develop as a boy? And why, when he’s old enough, does he get “sex change surgery” to change his genitals? I thought genitals didn’t determine gender?

Why can’t he just be a girl with male private parts? Why mess with his private parts if genitals have nothing to do with gender? And why put him on hormones for life so that he won’t grow a beard as a female? Isn’t that gender stereotyping? Who says that women shouldn’t have beards?

After all, we read today about “menstruating men” and “men” having babies. Why not bearded ladies? (Now that I think of it, Tom Neuwirth, aka Conchita Wurst, has basically said, “Yes, why not?”)

And why should a woman who has sex change surgery to become a man have her breasts removed? Why not keep her female organs intact and identify as a man who nurses his baby? (Now that I think of it, that’s been done too.)

You Can’t Have It Both Ways

Those who say that gender is a social construct turn around and reinforce that very construct.

We are told that the idea that boys like boy toys and girls like girl toys is sexist and bigoted. As Planned Parenthood explains, “In so many ways, society tells us how girls and boys are supposed to look, speak, dress, and act. In their attempt to sort out the world around them, your preschooler may form rigid ideas about gender and what it means for them.”

But when a little girl prefers boy toys and boy clothes and says, “I’m really a boy,” transgender activists say, “You see! We know she’s really a boy because she likes boy toys and boy clothes.”

I thought this was a bigoted way to think! I thought these were all social constructs. Why not say to the little girl, “But there’s no such thing as boy toys and boy clothes”? Something is not lining up.

It’s like PETA activists celebrating their latest victory with a meal at a Brazilian steak house. Or like lesbian activists celebrating the Obergefell decision by going out and marrying men. Here, in the case of transgender activists, those who argue that genitals don’t matter spend tens of thousands of dollars altering them. And those who say that gender is a social construct turn around and reinforce that very construct.

Once again, I do not belittle those who struggle with their gender identity. Instead, I long to see them find wholeness from the inside out.

I’m simply saying you can’t have it both ways. Either biological markers matter or they don’t. As for those with chromosomal or biological abnormalities, those difficult exceptions prove the rule: The biological norm for 99 percent of the population is male or female.

Even ‘Gender Anarchy’ Makes More Sense

According to GLAAD, “Gender identity is a person’s internal, personal sense of being a man or a woman (or boy or girl.) For some people, their gender identity does not fit neatly into those two choices. For transgender people, the sex they were assigned at birth and their own internal gender identity do not match.”

Why fixate so much on the “plumbing” if that is not what determines gender?

But what is “internal gender” if the categories of male and female are totally man-made? (Remember: We’re not just talking about biological sex here. We’re talking about gender categories.) And why fixate so much on the “plumbing” if that is not what determines gender?

It makes better sense to argue for “gender anarchy.” At least there’s a consistency there (although one that is in complete denial of the reality of God-given and God-established sex distinctions). Who needs husbands and wives or mothers and fathers or boys and girls? Let’s all be the same! That will even the playing field. Gender won’t exist at all.

When We Deny Reality, Social Madness Ensues

A British educational website offers, “Ten ways to challenge gender stereotypes in the classroom,” including, “Challenge stereotypes when you hear them.”

You can do this by asking, “Why can’t a boy wear pink? My Dad does.” Or, “Why can’t a girl like football? My wife plays for our local women’s team.”

But what if the boy who likes to wear pink says, “I’m really a girl! That’s why I love pink.” These same activists tell us, “Well, that proves that he really is a she and should be encouraged to identify as a girl. Let’s get him on hormone blockers.”

But I thought that liking pink wasn’t a girl thing after all?

Again, I don’t write this to belittle those who struggle, especially children. I write this to highlight the social madness that ensues when we deny the realities of biological sex and try to make gender into nothing and something at one and the same time.

So, parents and educators, when this stuff comes to a school near you, take a stand for sanity and truth. Your kids deserve it.

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Trilemma

Why can’t he just be a girl with male private parts?

I think that may be the best way to approach transgenderism. Everyone has to learn to live with their body. From some of the statistics I’ve seen, the best treatment for transgenderism is puberty.

Joel

Well notice a lot of the focus today is on children and the push to affirm their feelings. That way they can pre-emptively stop the natural changes their bodies would otherwise go through during puberty. Puberty won’t help a biological male identifying as a female much when they are taking testosterone blockers.

Trilemma

Maybe with more research we will be able to predict which individuals would still identify as transgender after puberty and only use hormone blockers with them.

Patmos

“Gender identity is a person’s internal, personal sense of being a man or a woman”

This is not even 2+2=5, this is 2+2=Coconut.

It’s genuinely insane, and downright cruel, that people are trying to treat transgenderism as normal. The LGBT Movement is as backwards as could possibly be. They are entirely hypocritical for ignoring all the abuse that contributes to people being sexually confused and sexually perverted, and completely selfish for turning a blind eye towards those who are able to overcome the effects of any such abuse.

The deaf, dumb and blind bleeding heart mentality behind the progressive mind that supports this stuff is going to lead nowhere, being void of any sort of wisdom, and will merely cover up the underlying darkness for temporary so called gains under the guise of tolerance.

The light of Christ extinguishes all darkness, and the grace of God opens the door to that light, by the way of his word. If anyone be in Christ they are a new creature, old things are passed away and behold, all things become new.

Charles Burge

Spot on. In order to “identify as” something, you need to have some idea of what are the distinguishing characteristics of the thing you are identifying as. In other words, if I’m going to “identify” as a woman, then I need to have in my mind some sort of definition of what a woman is. But wait… if I had that, then I would immediately realize that I am not, in fact, a woman. I don’t think any force but Satan could garble people’s minds so much that the can’t even see what’s directly in front of them.

RebelwithaCause

“This is not even 2+2=5, this is 2+2=Coconut.” – thanks for making me laugh out loud.

“The deaf, dumb and blind bleeding heart mentality behind the progressive mind that supports this stuff is going to lead nowhere” If only this was true. It is unfortuately leading to the collapse of the West, the rise of totalitarianism and an inevitable dystopia for the majority which will lead, as all marxists systems do, to oppression and state sponsored murder.

Jim Walker

PP : Next time when you are eating a cumcumber, you are actually eating a pineapple.
If you are not tasting the pineapple, your tongue is bigoted.

G Hazel

this puts into words what I’ve been thinking for some time. There are a few people out there who are embracing getting rid of “gender” entirely and that’s actually more consistent with the overall theme of LGBT. If you’re not happy with social constructs of “gender” assignments, then just ignore them. BE Max Klinger, without shame or distinction.

azsxdcf1

Madness. Sanity. Truth. Good words to use when debating these issues. Thank you, Dr Brown. Let’s all get real. Anybody remember REALITY? God will not be mocked.

Pigdowndog

“God will not be mocked.”
Yes he will. I mock him all of the time.
Great fun!
Shame he’s not real then it would be better fun.

Olaf

Your argument is do deep. So deep that 99.99% of the gender activists will not be able to understand it.

Stephen D

Yes you are exactly right. In order for a boy to act out the fantasy that he is ‘identifying’ as a girl, he must do things that are standard markers of girlhood – wear a dress, have lots of pink-coloured things, put a ribbon in his hair, etc, and finally have his hormones and genitals reconstructed. In other words, he must adopt the standard stereotype so derided by the promoters of gender fluidity.

Rob Klaers

You do know that pink wasn’t always a girl’s color, right? It was once seen as very masculine back in the 1800’s.

… and the extent to which gravity pulls me toward the soil does not determine my weight. Today, I identify as “featherweight.”

GLT

Brilliant, sir. Simply brilliant.

glenbo

>>”Brilliant, sir. Simply brilliant.”<<

How does a person born intersex determine which
"plumbing" parts to keep and which to surgically remove?

glenbo

>>”Today, I identify as “featherweight.””<<

Truly the stupidest remark about gender dysphoria made by someone who knows nothing about the subject.

You voted for Trump, didn't you.

JM

There has always been male and female. Transgenderism is just something the LGBT created.

Rob Klaers

If it was something that the LGBT created as you say, then perhaps you can explain how a number of Native American tribes recognized as many as 5 genders and with only two sexes.?

And even sex isn’t binary.

glenbo

>>”Transgenderism is just something the LGBT created”<<
What evidence do you have to prove this statement isn't an outright lie?
Where do you get your knowledge of gender dysphoria from?

Boris

According to the Bible God is a tranny.

Mensa Member

“You’re Wrong, Planned Parenthood. Genitals Do Determine Gender”

I agree with Dr. Brown — if you dumb-down being a man to his genitals. But I was raised to believe that being a man was more than that.

Joel

I have read a couple of your posts and sometimes hate the way people lash out at you. It is not very Christian like even though they may disagree. However, I have also read enough of your posts to know you are intelligent, and smart enough to know you are equivocating here. You and I (and Dr. Brown) both know that the most basic definition and indicator of male and female is based on the plumbing. This is consistent with all life that has a sex. If I showed you a photo of my dog positioned right and told you it was a girl, you would think I was a bit off by my statement and based on what is between his legs. What you constitute as “being a man” is a bit more complex of course, and not the same thing.

glenbo

>>”You and I (and Dr. Brown) both know that the most basic definition and indicator of male and female is based on the plumbing.”<<
How does a person born intersex determine which "plumbing" parts to keep and which to surgically remove?

Joel

I figured this would be asked. Of course this is an incredibly small number of people compared to the population and is considered an abnormality not the norm. The point of this is just because there some people are born with a known defect, that wouldn’t change the basic definition. The fact that we select for intersex helps support this. To directly answer your question though, it sounds most reasonable to decide based on their genes. Whether they are xx or xy will determine how their body will react through their life.

glenbo

>>”Of course this is an incredibly small number of people compared to the population”<>”The point of this is just because there some people are born with a known defect, that wouldn’t change the basic definition”<<
Change the definition of what?

What if the chromosomal genotype and sexual phenotype is other than XY-male and XX-female? How is the person's gender determined? What then does the medical
community recommend?

Joel

Hi Glenbo. Thank you for the response, although I can’t say I understand the purpose of your questions. To answer though, I don’t recall the exact number of intersexual births, so maybe you can enlighten me. I have heart the statistic in the past and it is a small fraction of a percent from what I recall.

In your second question I was referring to changing the basic definition of male and female. Sorry if that was not clear.

So for your third question you are referring to people who are both intersexual and also not xx or xy, correct? To be honest, I think believe the medical community recommends to chose and hope for the best. I’ve never heard a statistic on this combination, but feel free to enlighten me if you know.

glenbo

>>” I can’t say I understand the purpose of your
questions.”<>” I don’t recall the exact number of intersexual
births, so maybe you can enlighten me.”<>” In your second question I was referring to
changing the basic definition of male and female. Sorry if that was not clear.”<>” To be honest, I think believe the medical
community recommends to chose and hope for the best.”<>”I’ve never heard a statistic on this combination”<>”You and I (and Dr. Brown) both know that the
most basic definition and indicator of male and female is based on the plumbing.”<<

True, but not for someone who is transgender.

I responded to this assertion by you as you stated: “the
most basic definition and indicator of male and female is based on the plumbing.”

My question has not been answered. I shall ask it again:

How does a person born intersex determine which
"plumbing" parts to keep and which to surgically remove?

Please do some research on this subject (or any subject) before you presume to be an authority on this issue. Otherwise, you have no business speaking in any authoritative capacity on a subject you are obviously
knowledgably deficient in.

When you fail to do so, you come off as not only being
disingenuous, but also having a disingenuous intention.

Joel

Thank you for your response again Glenbo. I have to ask though, are you angry about something? Your questions come off as more of an interrogation where you are trying to catch me in something, than a conversation. My apologies if you feel I am coming across disingenuous here. I have actually read quite a bit on this subject and probably much more informed than the average person. I may not be the foremost authority on all things related to this subject, but I don’t think I really need to be in order to be posting here. With that, I don’t recall making a single claim that is very controversial or even outside of fairly common knowledge on the subject.

I also think you are showing your lack of knowledge on the subject a bit. Intersexual is not the same as transgendered. Thansgendered is where someone has a disconnect between the gender they mentally feel they are and the physical gender their body shows. While it is possible that a person who was born intersex is also transgendered, many transgendered were not born intersex. Furthermore, there are also intersex people who never have an issue which the gender that corresponds to the genitalia they have as adults. This is also the reason I said it was best to base which genitals to keep for intersex off their chromosomes. If their body at puberty is already genetically programmed towards a typical male or a typical female, do you think it would be better to go with it or against it?

I don’t think that I need to argue that the basic definition for a male or female has always been based off whether someone has male genitalia or female genitalia. Maybe you have some other ideas for this, which I’m glad to hear. However, I think you would be hard-pressed to prove a point contrary to this. It’s also not that I could not have looked up the statistics on the number of intersex people (as can you), but as I’ve mentioned I have already heard the number and know it is incredibly small. If you know otherwise, prove me wrong. That way you can discredit me as you mentioned, but I don’t think you can.

Finally, in reference to your main question about how to choose the gender for transgender people. This is actually the first time you’ve mentioned this if you look back, but I assume this is likely getting in the heart of the issue. I would say you have the question wrong. To show why I say this we need to both acknowledge that there is a physical gender and mental gender as I mention above. I assume there will be no issues in acknowledging this since the transgender community does. With some exceptions such as intersex, the rest of the transgender community were born as a perfectly normal biological male or female. So, for them gender is not assigned or chosen but acknowledged based on their physical attributes. At birth, their mental gender has not yet developed.

Furthermore, I think we can all agree that transgendered have a very serious issue. The issue is in that their physical gender does not comport with their mental gender. Either their physical gender is off and their mental gender is the correct one, or their mental gender is off and their physical gender is the correct one. The odd thing is that with transgender people it is almost universally assumed that their mental gender is right in their physical one is wrong. I can’t imagine what people such as our family, our friends, or our neighbors are going through when they have this disconnect, so don’t get me wrong as my heart truly goes out to them. However, why should we assume that the mental gender is correct in the physical gender is wrong when every single cell in their body shows their physical gender through their chromosomes in this cannot be changed even with surgery? We see statistically, that at least for some people, their mental gender will change. This is supported by the fact that we see a lot of people discussing gender fluidity now, that their mental gender changes from one time period to another. Again, I could not imagine what it’s like to live with this. However, if we’re looking strictly at the evidence we have about the subject, it seems the physical gender is the more immutable of the two. So in the end, I would say the biological sex seems to be the more logical choice. If you disagree, I am happy to hear your rational and consider it. Maybe, I am missing something critical you are aware of.

Natureboi

Glenbo:
The “experts” on human sexuality who say negative things usually get their “expert” knowledge from anti-LGBT organizations. This includes The Church. They refuse to do proper research from proper sources because the anti-LGBT sources verify what they want to believe which is deeply rooted in bigotry which is planted by religion
These hate groups create phony “science,” (Regnerus “study”) as well as create phony “scientific organizations” (American College of Pediatricians.) in order to convince people being LGBT is “harmful.” There is no reason to do this other than to generate animus towards all LGBT people.
None of the “experts” on LGBT issues (such as Joel) examine actual science (APA,AMA, AAP, ASA etc..) yet they freely toss around their negative opinions as so-called “fact.”
All the authentic scientific medical, psychological and sociological organizations unanimously agree that being transgender (or gay) is not a harmful condition and that children should be allowed to express themselves as they see fit if they have gender dysphoria.
You will not likely get people like Joel to admit how intersex people decide which gender to be physically because it forces them to admit that gender, for some people is a mental condition. To admit this is to undermine and collapse the entire anti-transgender movement.

Joel

Thank you for responding, and my apologies for the slow response. I thought I sent this yesterday, but for some reason it didn’t go through but I’m having to type again. I could be wrong on this, but are you angry about something. I only say that because it seems like your questions, crossed more like an interrogation then a conversation.

I am sorry if you feel like I am coming off as disingenuous. I have actually read quite a bit on this subject and likely know much more than the average individual. I am by no means one of the world’s foremost experts on the subject, but I don’t think I need to be in order to be posting on this site. Furthermore, I don’t recall that I have said anything so far that is that controversial or far outside of pretty common knowledge on the subject. Not will I in this post.

For example, I don’t think that I need support to show that the basic definition of male and female has been from whether someone has male genitals or female generals. This has always been the understanding and is applied universally across plants and animals of all species. Additionally, I could have looked up the percentage of intersex people (as can you) to provide an exact number, but the larger point was that percentage is very small. If I am wrong, prove me wrong. That will affect my credibility more then you simply asserting that I lack credibility simply because I didn’t provide a specific number, but instead relied on common knowledge of the subject.
So it’s not that I don’t think I can back up my claim, but that I don’t think I need to. If you were someone else wants to show me wrong, I challenge you to do it or stop questioning the accuracy.

I think you also show your ignorance on the subject by pressing the intersex question. A transgender person is someone who is physical gender does not match their mental gender, while as you mentioned an intersex person is someone who is born with both genitalia. While it is possible that some transgender people were born intersex, not all intersex people will also be transgender. There will obviously be people born intersex who maintain the gene tails that matches their mental gender as adults. However, the people born intersex only account for a fraction of the total population identify as transgender. Significant portion of people identifying as transgender were born with perfectly functioning male or female genitalia and are completely unrelated to intersex.

This gets to your question about which sex to choose for transgender people. Looking back this is actually the first time you’ve asked this question, but I would assume it’s the one that is driving the rest. Well I would say that’s the wrong type of question. Do you understand why I say this, we have to go back to the fact that were transgender people, their physical gender does not comport with their mental gender. I assume we can both agree upon this since the transgender community does. Now when the baby is born, the doctor doesn’t call the baby male or female based on a choice, but simply acknowledges what is already there. Their is not a choice or assignment as some people say.

I believe we can all agree that transgender people have a very serious issue. The issue being that their mental gender does not match their physicel gender. This means that either their mental gender is right and their physical gender is wrong, or it means that their physical gender is right and their mental gender is wrong. What I find odd is that it is almost universally understood among the transgender community today is that the mental gender is right and the physical gender needs changed. I say this is odd to me because every cell in a person’s body says what gender they are physically through the xx or xy chromosomes. Now obviously there are some exceptions to this, such as people born intersex or with variations of the xx or xy. However, at best, those variations are a subgroup of the total transgender population, and as I mentioned earlier only a portion of the people with the physical variation will identify as transgender. Now statistically, we do see that the mental gender of people can change. You’ll see this in statistics of people identify as transgender as teenagers, and you will also see this among the transgender community itself. This is evident in the notion of gender fluidity, that the mental gender will change over time. So we have a physical gender which is pretty much immutable (even with surgery) and mental gender which by all accounts seems to be more maluable or fluid. Which do you think it would be wise to base a decision on?

Don’t get me wrong, I can’t begin to understand how challenging and confusing it may be for a family member, a friend, or a neighbor to go through life experiencing this issue and my heart goes out to all who suffer from this disconnect. However, based on the basic known facts I listed above ( and I admit those could change as we learn more about this) it seems to me that one focuses on what can be changed and what cannot. It saddens me that people have to go through this, and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. You may disagree with what I have to say above, so feel free to share where you think I’m wrong or if you think you have a better suggestion and I’ll be happy to read it, consider it, and change my view if I am in fact wrong. Have a good day!

Preston Camp

glenbo: “What if the chromosomal genotype and sexual phenotype is other than XY-male and XX-female? How is the person’s gender determined? What then does the medical
community recommend?”

I’m not an expert, but a quick glance at the wikipedia articles for XO, XX, XXX, XY, XYY, XXY, and XXYY reveals that the first three (X, XX, XXX) have female secondary characteristics, while the latter three (XY, XXY, XYY, XXYY) have male characteristics. So for a shorthand method, it seems like the absence or presence of a Y chromosome determines biological sex. Many folks who have the rare (non-XX/XY) combinations even have few symptoms, although in some cases they can be severe.

There don’t appear to be viable options beyond those seven. People without either (OO), if they exist, won’t make it to birth, sadly. Ditto for someone with YY or XXXYYYYY. If people have these conditions, they are probably miscarried.

Back to your question. There appear to be two reasonable ways to address this: either define each combination as a gender for a total of seven, or group the first three and the latter four together for a total of two. The first option seems unnecessary; folks who aren’t XX or XY probably have enough struggles and don’t need to be marginalized any further. And since they have female and male characteristics anyway, we can just group them with the rest of the men and women.

So, as far as I can tell to the extent I’ve read, the question is pretty straightforward to answer. It’s a worthy question, glenbo. But not all worthy questions are hard. =]

If anyone has any corrections or a complication to throw at my pat answer, please chime up.

glenbo

Finally, someone who actually does research. Well done.
>>”So, as far as I can tell to the extent I’ve read, the question is pretty straightforward to answer.”<<
Can you please simplify your answer?
What does the medical community recommend?

Joel

By the way thank you for the response as it is a very good question!

Howard Rosenbaum

You’re correct. It goes further than mere genitalia. Theres those nasty little molecules to deal with. You know, DNA. Getting ones “male hood” blown off in a war zone will not a woman make , anymore than a “surgical strike” at the same target will. Perhaps the book & film “Catch 22” forecast the exasperation these “new” gender fluidity rules impose upon society. The idea as noted by Mr Brown that external changes are not non conformity to the established norms but are actually an affirmation of those norms should be self evident. Yet apparently it is not.
You can’t say you’re crazy if you’re really crazy, because a crazy person would never know they were crazy. You can’t substantiate any claim to being gender fluid by reducing ones gender to the rejection of their homegrown parts while substituting them w/counterfeit counterparts. Even the real deal were it possible would create the same appearance of hypocrisy . So while gender fluidity seems crazy to those not so “enlightened” the reality is it’s really much more of a contrivance than a mental condition …

glenbo

Can anyone tell me what the point of this completely uninformative article is?
Other than to generate a negative attitude about a group of people whose condition is absolutely nobody’s business?
Anyone? Please?

beth

It actually is everyone’s business, especially when transpersons insist on accommodations.

glenbo

>>”It actually is everyone’s business>>”

No, beth. It is NOT “everyone’s business.

>>”especially when transpersons insist on accommodations.”<<
That's not your business either. You don't get to decide what accommodations others can use.

beth

When I say accommodations, I am referring to automatic special considerations due those with a disability, such as ADD, ADHA, learning disabilities, hearing impairment, cognitive disabilities, epilepsy, CP, and other medical or health issues affecting learning or employment. All of these persons must have tremendous documentation verifying their medical condition and the requirement for time or space or special needs. Transpersons only need to announce that for that day they are trans and so they must be allowed in areas regarded are private. The next day they could be back to their birth assigned gender and not require a urinal. It’s that fluid.
Further, Courts across the country have recognized that there is a constitutional right to bodily privacy. Children at school, employees at work — and even felons in prison — have the right to not be viewed in a state of undress by those of the opposite sex. Schools shouldn’t be passing policies that strip students of privacy rights that even felons enjoy.

glenbo

>>” Transpersons only need to announce that for that
day they are trans and so they must be allowed in areas regarded are private.”<>” Schools shouldn’t be passing policies that strip
students of privacy rights”<>” The next day they could be back to their birth
assigned gender. It’s that fluid”<<

Can you please show me where you get your knowledge of gender dysphoria from?

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